An Interview with our staff: Dia Vang

Curious about what our staff is up to? Earlier this year, our office manager, Dia Vang, attended a three-day “Train the Trainer” seminar with our valued community partner, SAFE Credit Union, to bring Financial Literacy Education to our community members and business owners on Mack Road. Dia debriefed our staff on what she learned and how she can help our community members on Mack Road take charge of their financial future:

What did you find the most valuable after taking SAFE’s Financial Training?

The most valuable thing I learned from the training was the significance and power of a credit score and knowing how to prepare a personal budget. From there, I learned how I can help someone look for ways to reduce spending to save money, pay off high interest credit card debts, etc., to increase your credit score.

Name something you learned about banking fees that you didn’t know about before?

I didn’t know the different ways banks post debit transactions and how that ultimately impacts overdraft fees. Some bank transactions are posted based on the time you make the purchase in a day (which is more advantageous) but some banks post transactions based on highest to lowest debit amounts in a day, which is more costly to the consumer. For example, lets say you have $100 left in your bank account: In one day, you spent $30 at Wal-Mart, then filled up your gas tank for $25, buy lunch for $10, spend $5 on a lottery ticket, and lastly, a family dinner at Sizzler costs $40 with a total spending of $110. When a bank posts transactions based on highest to lowest, you end up having two transactions that did not have sufficient funding and therefore charged with two overdraft fees. If the posting transactions were based on time, only the last transaction did not have sufficient funding and therefore charged with only one overdraft fee.

Why should our community on Mack Road invest in a credit union bank account?

It is a personal preference whether or not an individual opens a bank account with a credit union. However, investing in a credit union is advantageous because they are not for profit and donate money back into our local community.

How can our community/business owners learn more about this training?

Thanks to SAFE Credit Union’s Financial Education Training, The Mack Road Partnership can now hold financial education information sessions and one-on-one coaching sessions for our community members and business owners. For more information, please email Dia at: dia.vang@mackroadpartnership.com or call her between 9am-5pm during the weekdays at 916.706.3833.